Bid to improve tax service with £130k director

Guernsey's government is looking to hire an additional director at a cost of more than £130,000 a year in a bid to deal with issues at the revenue service.

The States' Treasurer announced on Tuesday the director of the Revenue Service role would be split between two people due to "ever increasing demands".

Various issues, including a backlog of unprocessed tax returns, have brought criticism of how the service is run from the public.

Treasurer Bethan Haines, who carried out a review into the role, said the decision would help "improve the service islanders receive".

The additional director role has been posted on the States website, with a salary of between £130,485 and £147,039.

The responsibilities of the sole director included both leading on operational delivery and policy work, such as international taxation and introducing and changing taxes.

Mrs Haines said these had become "too extensive" and were "no longer serving the community's best interests".

She said splitting the role between two people would help improve operations.

"As is the case with many roles in the public sector, particularly at a senior level, they tend to expand over time as demands on services increase," she said.

"It was clear to me that splitting its operational and policy responsibilities was necessary."

She added: "We are committed to improving the service islanders receive and allowing the director of the Revenue Service to focus solely on the operational performance, without also being responsible for significant policy demands, will best support those aims."

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